Kiwoom Heroes Ahn Woojin (24) will begin military service and will return in 2025.
On December 28, Kiwoom announced, “Ahn Woojin will begin military service as a social service worker on December 18. She will first start her service under the Armed Forces Administration’s good service system, and will later enter a training center to undergo basic military training. The first day of demobilization is September 17, 2025.”
Ahn is a specialty ace with a career record of 43 wins, 35 losses, 14 holds, two saves and a 3.21 ERA in 156 games (620 innings). Last year, she reached her full potential, going 15-8 with a 2.11 ERA in 30 games (196 innings). He struck out 224 batters, breaking the single-season record for most strikeouts by a Korean player in history, surpassing Choi Dong-won (Lotte, 223) in 1984.
This year, Ahn attempted to become the first KBO player to strike out 200 batters in back-to-back years, but was unable to do so due to injury. He went 9-7 with a 2.39 ERA in 24 games (150⅔ innings), but an elbow injury prevented him from pitching since August 31 against SSG (6 innings, 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 1 run). 먹튀검증 He ended up having Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament splicing), which ended his season.
Tommy John surgery requires over a year of rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation made it difficult for Ahn to pitch next season, so he decided to complete his military service during the rehabilitation period. Unlike teammate Cho Sang-woo, who delayed his enlistment and subsequent return to the team, Ahn was able to complete his military service early on, as he had already decided where he would serve.
As one of the KBO’s leading ace pitchers, Ahn has received a lot of interest from Major League Baseball. He has expressed his desire to play in the major leagues if he gets the chance. This year, when Lee Jung-hoo announced his entry into the major leagues, many major league scouts visited the Gocheok Sky Dome, and not only Lee Jung-hoo but also Kim Hye-sung and Ahn Woo-jin were carefully observed.
Ahn Woo-jin is still three seasons away from making it to the major leagues. Ahn has had first-team experience since her rookie year in 2018, but only last year and this year did she reach the 145-day mark for first-team registration. In 2020 (130 days) and 2021 (139 days), he was slightly short of the required number of days. Each of the four seasons (2018-2021) with insufficient registration days can be counted as two seasons.
To be eligible for publication, a player must have seven seasons of eligibility.
Ahn has three seasons left. In 2025, when he returns from his military service as a social service worker, he will not be able to fulfill all of his enrollment requirements, even if he starts pitching in the first team right away. Therefore, he will need to play a full season from 2026 to 2028 to be eligible for posting.
In 2028, Ahn will be 29 years old. That’s not a lot of years to reach the major leagues. He’s still young enough to be attractive to major league teams. His fastball, which reaches nearly 160 kilometers per hour, is not something you see every day, even in the majors. 안전놀이터 If she were to hit the market with a post, there would be a lot of major league teams looking for her.
“Thank you to my fans for always supporting me. I will return from my military service healthy. I will do my best to continue to show the fans the good things they remember about me after I leave the military,” he said before his military enlistment. Fans are looking forward to seeing what Ahn Woo-jin will do when he returns.